Don't make phone calls from the Dolphin rooms.

[Kallison]

DH made about 70 min. worth of calls and the bill was $270!! I kept telling him not to use the phone in the room, but I was out in the parks with his cell phone so he could reach me. He did manage to complain and get it lowered to less than $100. Seems to me it is just a way of gouging convention guests who submit bills to their company and seeing who will swallow it.

 

[Kimberle]

Yup! Pretty much a "hotel standard".

I make it a "rule" never to touch the hotel phone unless it is an emergency. Back before the days of cell phones, I'd use a pay phone in the hotel lobby and use a calling card.

Also, remember if you hook up to the internet, you almost always will be charged! $9.95 per day is a pretty typical rate. (I've billed back tons of these costs so have seen them from almost every hotel chain.)

 

[Rella]

I would question that phone bill. We paid$ 10.00 a day resort fee .I thought that gave you a certain amount of calls?

 

[Kallison]

Originally posted by Rella
I would question that phone bill. We paid$ 10.00 a day resort fee .I thought that gave you a certain amount of calls?

Yep dh questioned them on that too, he couldn't get a straight answer and he talked to several managers. He is like a pit bull when he is mad, I always tell him he should have been a trial lawyer. He wanted to know exactly what they were charged by their phone provider but of course they wouldn't tell him.

We also hooked up to the internet but weren't charged for that. One call was from the room to me on the cell phone in the park for less than one minute and it was $10.

 

[pooh6890]

Just got back from CSR last week. I had to sign a disclaimer for phone use in the room. The CM told me to really read it before signing so I guess they must have had numerous complaints. I don't think it's Disney as much as the phone companies gouging us. Besides, we always use cell phones when vacationing and that can get expensive too with the roaming charges.

 

[TLinden16]

I never use a hotel room phone unless it's a quick local call. Most hotels I stay at seem to charge $1-2 for a local call for the first 30 minutes. For a long distance call, most hotels seem to charge a 50-100% service charge over what the phone company charges. And they don't charge you those five or seven cent a minute rates.

Also, be aware that many hotels charge when you dial toll free numbers. It's usually the same as a local call, but sometimes they do charge a per minute rate.

Also, most hotels seem to charge around $10 per day for the high speed internet connections. If your ISP has a local access number, and you don't mind dial up, you should be able to do it for the cost of a local call.

Karen

 

[Miffy]

On the Swan/Dolphin FAQ it says:

"Resort Fee includes:
unlimited high speed internet service
daily newspaper
Health club
Free local (1 hour) and toll-free calls. After 1 hour each additional minute is .10 unless you hang up and call again then you get another free hour.
unlimited coffee"

Were the calls your dh made not local calls or did they just charge him for anything they felt like?

And...does anybody know how it works when one uses a calling card from the room phone? Is there also an outrageous charge for that?

Kallison--You guys must've been super-shocked when you got the bill.

--miffy--

I get to see my countdown clock!

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by pooh6890
Just got back from CSR last week. I had to sign a disclaimer for phone use in the room. The CM told me to really read it before signing so I guess they must have had numerous complaints. I don't think it's Disney as much as the phone companies gouging us. Besides, we always use cell phones when vacationing and that can get expensive too with the roaming charges.

I was just at the Poly three weeks ago and wasn't given any kind of waiver. I always bring my cellphone and have used the resort phones also. At WDW they charge .50 a call and then I use a prepaid card. Because of that I am only charged .50 per call at Disney.

 

[dreamflight99]

Unless your DH opted to "waive" the resort fee (which is pretty difficult to do), he is entitled to the list of benefits posted by Miffy. Of course, If he made LONG DISTANCE calls, this would be a different matter entirely. Perhaps the phone number he used to call you on your cell phone is long distance.

All the phone rates are CLEARLY listed on the convenient pad clearly located next to the phone. Long Distance charges are not controlled by the Dolphin, but by the carrier they use. The charges are standard in the Hotel industry, and will be assessed everytime you use a hotel phone for a LONG DISTANCE call.

It was very nice of the Dolphin associate to reduce the charges to less than $100. Some Hotel properties will refuse to assist the patron in such a matter, and you will be forced to either contact the phone company directly, or dispute the charge on your credit card. I'm sure your DH has learned a very valuable lesson, and will not use a hotel phone for any long distance calls in the future. I use the phone for long distance calls, but only to connect to the CALLING CARD toll-free number! I also use the internet connection...which is the price of a local call at the Dolphin for the first 59 minutes. You must disconnect and reconnect to prevent the "over 60 minutes" fees from being assessed.

 

[HumphreyBear]

you should make it a rule
"Don't make phone calls from ANY hotel rooms."

They post on there that the long distance is a fortune. Use your cell phone or a calling card. Never call long distance on a hotel phone! And when we travel to conferences they don't pay our phone bill, just the room rate. I don't know if everywhere is like that. Companies usually have company calling cards. Or they pay the cell phone bill. Even if you are only a mile or so away, your cell phone is a long distance call from the hotel unless your cell phone has an orlando area code. It is just like calling you at home as far as the bill is concerned. Get in the habit of not making long distance calls from the hotel. Call home on your cell and tell them to call you back or something!

 

[Miffy]

Hi dreamflight99. When I use my calling card (which I seldom do...as you can tell ), I dial "O" then the area code and number I'm calling...then I get a prompt from AT&T to enter my pin. I'm not really sure how the heck much these calls cost from a hotel phone, but since we're about to go away, I thought now would be a good time to check!

Do you enter a toll-free number from a non-AT&T service? Is it time I got a different calling card? Or maybe I should get a prepaid phone card? All help is appreciated since I'll definitely be calling home to check on our cats and cat-sitter while we're reclining in our heavenly bed!

TIA --miffy--

 

[jgates]

Might I suggest a Sam's Club card? They are 3.47 cents per minute. If you use a pay phone there is a 6 (?) minute surcharge so figure about .25 cents. I don't know if you have anyone that has access to Sam's club for these or not near you. If you had more time, I would pick up one next week and mail it to you. If all else fails, I think the WM ones are .10 per minute. What is nice is that even if someone else buys it for you, you can use a credit card and recharge it yourself at anytime with minutes.

 

[maggiew]

When we were at the Dolphin in June, I used the phone quite a bit and we had NO phone charges. I had a Wal-mart card that you dialed into an 800 number to connect. Then it prompted you for the phone number you wanted to call. The 800 calls are included with the resort charge.

I also used their high speed internet every day and it cost nothing (beyond the resort fee). That was what I loved most about the Dolphin. I uploaded my pictures every night to Shutterfly so my husband could see what me and the girls and my mom did that day.

Maggie

 

[swilphil]

I remember seeing the phone rates by the phone in our room at the Dolphin. We only made local calls and used cell phones for long distance. I've also used a calling card from other Westin hotels.

 

[Cris]

Originally posted by skiwee1
I was just at the Poly three weeks ago and wasn't given any kind of waiver. I always bring my cellphone and have used the resort phones also. At WDW they charge .50 a call and then I use a prepaid card. Because of that I am only charged .50 per call at Disney.

Did you sign a registration card when checking in?? Then you signed the waiver. It is like that every hotel, you are signing a contract that shows the length of stay, hotel rate, phone charges, and has your credit card number on it. Signing it give the hotel the right to charge you for those things.

 

[Antiguan]

What the hotel charges you is not what the phone company charges. They put a premium on the charge for providing the service. This premium can be any where from 50% to in excess of 100% of what the phone company charge is.

 

[DisneyVillain]

Originally posted by pooh6890
I don't think it's Disney as much as the phone companies gouging us.

Actually, surcharges on long distances are a major profit center for virtually all hotels. It IS Disney, (or in this case Starwood), that is making the calls so expensive.

 

[Miffy]

jgates : Thanks so much for your offer of the Sam's Club card. If time weren't ticking down, I'd take you up on it. But, as it is, I'm happy for the info. I'll be looking for some kind of a deal like this before we go.

This thread has been enormously informative. Thanks to everyone on it, especially Kallison, who started me thinking about this. I hadn't even considered it before I saw this thread.

regards to all --miffy--